Switch



Feb. l0, 1948.Y E. w. RICKMEYER SWITCH Filed April 8, 1944 2Sheets-Sheet 1 nvr/mwen.Y Ernsf W Ric Kmeyr Feb 10, 1948. E. w.RlciKMx-:YR 2,435,602

SWITCH Filed Aprifl 8, 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. `lrnsn WRlckmeyer Patented Feb. 10, 1948 SWITCH Ernst Walter Rickmeyer,Elmhurst, Ill., assignor to Jefferson Electric-Company, Bellwood, lll.,.a corporation of Illinois Application April 8, 1944, Serial No.530,123`

Thel present invention relatesv toswitches and more particularly tocentrifugal switches wherein a conducting fluid (mercury) is moved bycentrifugal force to control the ow of current in a.-

circuit. `In such devices the conducting fluid is j. The presentinvention concerns itself with a novel switc'hconstruction whereby thepassage or passages can beprovided in a simple manner' that lendsitselfto accurate and rapid production.

AIn. the production of switches of the character hereinbefore describedit is essential that the de- `vices@ .have uniformity of .timngsimplicity and ruggedness of construction.l In one form of switch towhich my invention applies a tubular shell is divided into two chambers,one of which, before actuation of the switch, is completely filled with,theeonautmgflum- The other chamber acts as a 'receiver for theconducting duid. The passage'restriction .is locatedin-a memberinterposed between the twoch'ambers and is so arranged as` to pass theconducting uid at a-rate vdependent upon the pressure of thefluidagainst said member, the pressure in turn being responsive to the`centrifugal force set up by rotation of the ,shell about an axis at ornear the lled end thereof. In this form of device' the'sheli is 'a metalshell vwhich is :mounted upon -arotatihg or 'spinning' device withthelled lend of the shell ltoward the axis 'of rotation. The restrictionmember is Aspaced radially from a contact -member within I lone end ofthe shell. It is evident that the rotation'or spinning of the supportingmember for the shell will force the conducting r`fluid through thepassage or passages in the restriction member tactmember is closer tothe axis of rotation than the restriction member the passage of theconducting fluld outward into the receiving chamber will cause a breakbetween the conducting liquid and the contact member.

It is also a purpose of this invention to provide a novel means wherebya multiplicity of very fine restricted passages may be formedintermediate the ends of the shells in a switch of this character by theutilization of a ibrous material in'conjunction with 'a solid supportprovided with one or moreapertures that are covered by the fibrousmaterial.

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide in a device of thischaracter a novel means for clamping and securing an apertured supportwith a layer of fibrous material in transverse position within a shell.

Other detailed objects and advantages of the invention will appear asthe' description proceeds,

vreference' being' had' to the `accompanying draw- Fig.'1 is a plan viewof a rotating device wherein a circuit controlling switch of the typeembodyingmy invention is mounted;-

Fig. 2 isa longitudinal sectional view through the switch itself;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the switch shown in Fig.5;

Fig. '7 is an end view of the switch shown in Fig. 6; and f Fig. 8 is asectional view taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 6.

Referring nowin particular to Figs. 1 to 4, in-

elusive, I show in Fig. 1 a rotating element I0 which maybe mounted uponany suitable power means such as the shaft of a motor. The member Illhas a Docket I I therein which receives av switch element I2. Myinvention is' particularly concerned lwith the switch element I2 and themeansv for breaking contact between its two terminals I3 and I4. Theswitch element I2 comprises a metal shell l5 to which the terminal I3 iswelded or otherwise secured. A central contact member I 3 is supportedat one end of the shell and the terminal .Il is attached to the contactmember I6.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the switch isarranged with the end of the shell I5 that carries the central contactI6 closest to the axis of rotation oi the member I0. In rotationtherefore centrifugal force will be set up lengthwise of the shell I5 ina downward direction as it is shown in Fig. 2. I divide the shell I5into a chamber I1 and a chamber i8 by providing a transverse partitionbelow the inner end of the contact member I6. The chamber |1 isinitially filled with a conducting fluid such as mercury so that aclosed circuit exists between the terminals I3 and I4. The chamber `|8is empty of the iiuid and by providing a restricted passage or passagesbetween the chambers I1 and I8 the length of time the circuit willremain closed can-be controlled in response to the centrifugal force setup by rotating the switch I2 by means of the member Ill. My inventionconcerns itself with the provision of a novel construction whereby therestricted Ypassage between the chambers can be provided.

In order to provide restricted passage between the chambers l1 and I8 Iset an inverted cup I9 within the bottom of the shell I5 and providethis cup with a central aperture 28 of a definite size dependent uponthe rate at which it is desired to pass the mercury from the chamber I1.to the chamber I8 at a given speed of rotation of the member i0. On theside of the' aperture 20 toward the axis of rotationl then provide alayer 2| of porous material and I clamp this layer of porous materialagainst the surface of the cup I9 around the aperture 20 by means of aclamping member 22.

The cross sectional area of the aperture 20 is quite critical. This areaand the porosity cf the layer 2| determine the rate of ilow ofmercury'out of the chamber I1. Any slight increase in the diameter ofthe aperture 28 effects a substantial increase in total area of theaperture 20 and opens a larger number of passages through the porousmaterial, thereby decreasing the time it will take to pass enoughmercury to break contact with the contact member I8.

The layer of porous material 2| preferably is made up of an intermediatelayer 23 of brous 4material such. for example, as blotting paper whereinthe fibers are of sulcient length that they will bridge the aperture 20.Blotting paper is mentioned merely as an example, as other felted bersmay be used. 'I'his intermediate layer is confined between two coveringlayers 24 and 25 of linen or other woven fabric to give support to theblotting paper.

The clamping member 22 has acentral aperture 26 which is slightly largerthan the aperture 20. This clamping member is cupped as shown in Fig. 2and in order to cause it to hold the layer 2| of fibrous material underpressure against the face of the member I9 the shell I5 is rolled inwardas indicated at 21. This rolling opcomplete the sealing of the sneu ls.The meterla.

tion of the device. The members I3 and 22 may also be made of steel orArmco iron and the contact member I 6 may be made of stainless steel.copper, Monel metal or any other suitable conductor material.

In operation the rotation of the shell by the member I0 causes themercury to be forced through the porous material 2| that is directlyover the aperture 28. The porosity of the material, the size of theaperture 20 and the pressure developed by the centrifugal forcedetermine the rate at which the mercury will escape from-the chamberI 1. The central contact I8 and the'shell are of such size that beforethe mercury fills the chamber i8 it will pass the inner end of the con-"tact I5 and thus open the circuit. However, owing to the ne porosity ofthe porous material 2| the mercury normally will not escape through thismaterial into the chamber I8 due to the jolts and tumbling that thedevice undergoes in normal handling. The switch as shown is a one timeswitch. In other words, once theswitch operates a circuit is brokenuntilthe rotation stops. Be-

fore the switch can again be used the conducting fluid in the chamber I8must be forced back into the chamber I1. This can be accomplished by thesimple method of reversing the switch end for" end, and rotating it bymeans of thel member I0.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, in this form ofthe devicemeans are provided whereby a simple shell with two transverse disks maybe utilized to obtain the same results as are obtained by theconstruction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclu. sive, with the addedadvantage that considerable machine work is avoided on the -shell andthe volume of the chamber around the center contact is materiallyreduced, thus reducing the amount of conducting uid necessary.

In this iorm of the invention a shell 32 is voriginally drawn and isthen provided with an inwardly extending bead 33 which may be formed bya rolling operation. 'I'hen an apertured disk 34 provided with anaperture 35 of the desired cross section is placed against the shoulderprovided by the bead 33 and a'layer 38y of porous material exactly likeIthe layer 2| of Figs.i 1 to 4 is placed over the disk 34. A clampingrdisk 31 is then placed over the layer 36. This clamping disk is providedwith an aperture 38 that is aligned with and slightly larger than theaperture 35. A center contact 39 is then seated within the shell and -bymeans ofa rolling operation the shell portion 32a between thedisk 31 andthe insulating disk 40 which supports the center contact 39 is forcedinward so as to clamp the disks 34 and 31 together over the layer 38 ofporous material. This rolling operation on the portion 32a of the shellis carried out tothe extent desired to give the right size .of chamberI1' about the center contact 39. Likewise this rolling operation servesas a means of-accurately spacing the end of the contact member 38 fromthev aperture 3l. The chamber i8' is formed by form manner in massproduction.

assecontheciosed end or the sneu :2 and the disk a4. The washer 40 whichsupports the center contact 8.9 is sealed in place by rolling vover anedge 4| atthe open end ofthe shell.

This particular construction has the advantagethat necessity for makingthe orifice carrying member cup-shaped is avoided. Likewise therolling-operation `provides a shoulder., forthe disk 40 and thusleliminates the necessity for cutting the shoulder on theinner surface ofthe 2...,Terminals 42 and 43 for the contact 39 and the shell 32 may beprovided in thesame fashion as the terminals I3 and i4 are provided...The operation of this form of the device is essentially form the volumeof the chamber i1- can be more accurately controlled. f

' In the specic description of the forms of device shownl have referredonly to aswitch wherein the centrifugal force acts to open `thecircuit.A lItis obvious however that the same type of switch canv beused to close a circuit by forcing a- `conducting uid through arestricting member-having restricted passages therein, the particularfeature of my invention being in the construction of the switch so thatthe restricted l passagesm'ay be provided in an accurate, uni- All ofthe operationson the shell 'and its contained parts can. ber'done withautomatic machinery so as to make the ultimate product at a low cost.

In,v the description and in the claimsI refer tothe switch member asbeing radially disposed with respect to the spinning or rotating member.This term is meant to include placing the tubular member with its axis'in a plane inter-v secting the axis of rotation of the member lll since.it is evident that the switch could still function if the axis of theshell did not coincide with aradius from the axis of the member I0. Inthe preferred constructions as described I have also shown the shell asbeing of conducting material and forming one of the contacts of theswitch. This obviously is not necessary ,since the one.y contact mightbe provided in a shell of insulating material and the same generalresults obtained.` Such a construction is contemplated in my invention.From the foregoing description it is believed that the nature andadvantages of my invention will be readily apparent to those'skilled inthis oars.,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Pat ent is:

1. A switch comprising a. spinning member, a

tubular shell radially disposed thereon, a contact rial under pressureagainst the support. I

, 2. A switch comprising a spinning member, a tubular shell radiallydisposed thereon, a contact member at one end of the shell and sealedthereto, the other end of the shell being closed, and a restrictionmember across said shell between the 5 facing the axis of rotation, anda clamping mem-v ber on the side of said layer facing the axis ofrotation and holding the layer of porous material -underpressuragainstthe support, said layer of porous material including fibrous mat-10 ter having fibers of a length sunicient to extend shell. at the openend as indicated at 30 in Fig.

across the aperture. e

. 3. A switch comprising a. spinning member, a tubular shell radiallydisposed thereon, a contact member at one end of theshell and sealedthere- 15 to, a the other end of the shell being closed, and thesame as`that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 but in this s a restriction member acrosssaidl shell between the 'contact member and the closed end thereof,l

ing member on the side of said layer facing the axis of rotation andholding the layer of porous material under pressure against the support,said layer of porous material comprising a laverl of fabric next to thesupport, a felted fibrous material layer over said fabric layer andanother fabric layer over the fibrous material.

4. A switch comprising a spinning member, a' tubular shell radiallydisposed thereon, a contact member atene end of the shell and sealedthereto, the other end of the shell being closed, and a restrictionmember across said shell between the. contact member and the closed endthereof, said restriction member comprising a support having at leastone aperture therein, a layer of porous material on ,the side of saidrestriction member facing the laxis of rotation, and means clamping saidlayer of porous material to the support.

5. In a centrifugal switch of the character described, a tubular shell,a'contact member extending into said shell at one end thereof, insuflating means supporting said contact ymember and sealed to said fshell,the other end'of the' shell being closed, transversely extending membersintermediate the ends of said shell providing a partition separating theshell into two chambers, said transversely extending members including50y means providing a restricted passageway from of the members wherebyto hold them in assemv bled relation.-

6. In a switch of the character described, a tubular shell having oneend closed, a contact member extending into the shell from the otherend, an insulating washer supporting said contact member and closing theend of lsaid shell, a cup shell with its base spaced from the end of theshell and provided with an aperture, a, layer of shaped member seated inthe other end of the porous material on said cup-shaped member, a

. clamping member on said layer of porous material, and an inwardlyextendingl bead in the shell wall forcing. the clamping member againstthe porous material.

7. In a switch of thecharacter described, a tubular shell having aninwardlyextendng bead adjacent one end thereof, said end of the shell,being closed, an apertured disk seated on said bead on the side oppositethe closed end of the shell, a layer of porous material on the apertureddisk, and means including an inturned portion the layer' of porousmaterial against the first named apertured dlsk.

8. In a switch of the character described, a tubular shell having oneend closed and having a portion of restricted diameter adjacentsaid'end, a restricted passageway forming means resting on said portionof vrestricted diameter, said shell having a second portion ofrestricted diameter holding said restricted passageway forming means inposition, a contact member extending into the shell from the other endthereof. an' insulating support for said contact member, said shellhaving a shoulder at the last named end thereof on which said supportrests, the open end of the shell being turned over the insulatingsupport to secure the contact rigidly in the shell.

9. In a switch of the character described, a tubular shell adapted to berotated about an axis adjacent one end thereof, a, contact member at oneend of the shell and sealed thereto. the other end of the shell beingclosed, and a restriction member across said shell between the contactmember and the closed end thereof,l said restriction member comprising asupport having at least one aperturetherein. a', layer of porousmaterial on the side of said restriction member facing the' axis ofrotation, and a clamping member on the side of said layer facing theaxis of rotation and holding the layer of porous material under pressureagainst the support. l

10. In a switch of the character described. a tubular shell adapted tobe rotated about an axis adjacent one end thereof, a contact member nearone end of the shell and sealed thereto, a restriction .member`extending across the shell and j spaced from the contact'member, saidrestriction member comprising a support having an aperture therein, alayer of porous material on 'the side of the restriction member facingthe axis of rotation, and a clamping member having an aperture slightlylarger than the aperture in the restriction member and holding the layerof porous material under pressure against the support. i

member comprising a support having an aperture therein, a, layer ofporous material on the side of the restriction member facing the axis ofrotation, 1

and a clamping member having an aperture slightly larger than theaperture in the restriction member and holding the layer ofporous'material under pressure against the support, `said layer 0fporous material comprising bers of a length suf..

ticient to bridge the -aperture in the support.

ERNST WALTER A' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the rile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,498,113 Gillen June 17, .1924.1,959,861 Glne'n ..-May 22. 1934

